Athens International Airport is the first Airport in Europe to announce a significant reduction of parking and landing charges for most of the airlines. The Board of Directors, under the leadership of Chairman Professor Vaitsos, approved unanimously the Management's proposal for a targeted reduction aiming at supporting airlines in light of the very difficult times they are facing.
"We believe that the measures will contribute to the cost cutting efforts of the airlines operating at the Athens International Airport", says CEO, Dr. Matthias Mitscherlich. "Within our own limited margins," continues Dr. Mitscherlich, "we tried to support the majority of our airline-customers. We will continue to find ways to assist airlines in order to get out of this crisis".
The Athens International Airport has decided to restructure landing and parking charges and offer significant discounts, while the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 and their disastrous effect on the airline industry have drastically affected the airport's traffic, and despite the fact that a significant drop has been projected for the next year.
This was possible due to the positive results of the first five months of operation. The review of the current structure of the Airport's parking and landing charges also aims at improving the competitiveness and attractiveness of the airport in view of its vision to develop into a hub.
More specifically, in an effort to provide valuable support to the severe financial situation of airlines and responding to their pledge for assistance, the Athens International Airport proceeded with the following three measures, effective as of November 1st 2001, in order to immediately relieve airlines:
Furthermore, AIA is investigating the potential of implementing as of January 1st, 2002 an incentives measure under specific conditions, to support thin international routes.